Senate committee passes 'bathroom bill' after 10 hours of testimony
For the third time this year, state lawmakers on Friday held a marathon hearing on measures to restrict bathroom use for transgender Texans. Full Story
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![Citizens line up to testify during a July 21, 2017 Senate State Affairs Committee hearing where Senators will take up Senate Bill 3, the "bathroom bill."]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Source of Senate's speed in special session? "Pizza and soda pop" (video)
Donning an apron, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered senators dinner for coming back in the early morning hours Thursday to vote out two special session bills that would extend the life of five state agencies. Full Story
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National Episcopal Church urges defeat of Texas "bathroom bill"
The national Episcopal Church is urging Texas House Speaker Joe Straus to remain "steadfast" in his opposition to legislation to restrict bathroom use for transgender Texans. Full Story
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![Faith leaders from around Texas gather at First United Methodist Church near the Texas Capitol as the Texas Believes coalition on Feb. 9, 2017. The group is opposing several upcoming anti-LGBT bills and is rejecting the use of faith as a political weapon to justify discrimination.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott adds school finance, retired teacher benefits to special session
In what seems to be an overture to the House, Gov. Greg Abbott added two new education-related issues to his special session call Thursday: school finance reform and increased benefits for retired teachers. Full Story
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![The three leaders of Texas make nice at a short Cash Management Committee meeting in the Betty King Room of the Texas Capitol on July 18, 2017, the first day of the special session.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Here’s what Texans said about the Legislature and the "bathroom" debate
Here’s a look at the state-vs.-local fight over bathroom regulations, the legislative debate on the issue and how some Texans feel about the proposed measures. Full Story
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![Several Texas cities with populations around 1 million — including San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth and Plano — have explicit protections in place against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.]()
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Senate gives OK to must-pass "sunset" legislation in midnight vote
A fast-moving Senate gave approval to critical “sunset legislation” after midnight Thursday, using two bills to extend the life of five state agencies held political hostage at the end of the regular legislative session. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appears in the Texas Senate with pizza and soda as senators arrive for a midnight vote during the special session on July 20, 2017]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Hey, Texplainer: What will the special session cost taxpayers?
The special session starting Tuesday is expected to be the costliest to date. But as government spending goes, a special session is actually pretty cheap. Full Story
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At the Texas Capitol, the bathroom bill is back
Both proponents and opponents of a Texas "bathroom bill" are steeling themselves once again as a special session kicks off in which Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to add the hot-button issue to the agenda. Full Story
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![Activists from Austin's LGBT community protested proposals to restrict bathroom use for transgender people on the steps of the Texas Capitol on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune -
Texas teachers voice opposition to education-heavy special session
The day before the start of this summer's special legislative session, educator groups rallied at the Texas Capitol, demanding more state resources and fewer unfunded mandates. Full Story
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![The day before the start of the special session — on July 17, 2017 — several teacher and education groups turned out at the state Capitol to rally against GOP leaders' public education agenda.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats lay out their own special session priorities
Democrats in the Texas Legislature outlined their priorities for the upcoming special legislative session on Monday, focusing on several issues that did not appear on Gov. Greg Abbott's agenda for the session. Full Story
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![State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, attempts to add an amendment to SJR 2 advocating for Texas to join a Convention of States on May 4, 2017. Turner's try at an amendment, to force the resignation of federal officials caught cooperating with the Soviets, failed to pass.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott builds $41 million war chest with eye on re-election, special session
Gov. Greg Abbott has a nearly $41 million war chest heading into his re-election campaign — and a special session in which he's looking to keep political pressure on lawmakers to pass an ambitious 20-item agenda. Full Story
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![Texas Gov. Greg Abbott greets Wendy Randall and husband Martin during a block walk the day after his re-election announcement on July 15, 2017. Abbott visited a half dozen homes in Bentsen Heights in north McAllen.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
IBM ups the ante in fight against bathroom bill
As Texas lawmakers reconvene for a special legislative session, IBM and other major companies are re-upping their opposition to legislation they say would discriminate against transgender children and harm its Texas recruiting efforts. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick holds a press conference outside Senate chambers two hours after House Speaker Joe Straus told reporters the House declines to negotiate with the Senate on its proposed compromise on a “bathroom bill.”]()
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Analysis: Special session sniping underway before the opening gavels
The Texas Legislature is returning to Austin, but the leaders of the Senate and the House appear to be starting the new session on the same sour notes with which they ended the regular session seven weeks ago. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for the Texas Tribune -
Critics say Abbott catering to donors with special session priorities
As state lawmakers and city officials gear up to battle over land-use legislation, a liberal watchdog group says $34 million in campaign donations from real estate and construction industries "paved the way" for this month's special session agenda. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Patrick proposes millions for teacher bonuses, retirement
Days before the special session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rolled out a specific plan to give retired and long-term teachers up to $1,000 in additional bonuses, using money from the Texas Lottery over the long-term. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick addresses the media at the Texas Capitol on July 13, 2017, days before the start of a special session.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Lawmakers failed to end troubled Driver Responsibility Program
Mandy Mann thought she had paid her dues for a 2009 traffic stop. But six years later, the Waco mom was stopped and arrested — for failing to comply with the state's troubled Driver Responsibility Program. Full Story
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![It took Mandy Mann, of Waco, more than six years to resolve penalties with the flawed Driver Responsibility Program.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Dreamers grateful efforts to repeal in-state tuition benefit never materialized
Efforts to strip undocumented students in Texas of their in-state college tuition benefit failed to pass during the latest legislative session. Full Story
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![Sam Cervantes, an undocumented immigrant out of Houston, pays in-state tuition at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
With no relief from Legislature, West Dallas mom scrambles for a place to live
Noemi Pina is among hundreds of West Dallas residents who have been ensnared in a battle between their landlord and Dallas City Hall. Full Story
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![Noemi Pina, 43, and her mother Juana Rosas, 81, sit in their West Dallas living room. They are among scores of residents who will have to relocate from the neighborhood after the city tightened its rental housing standards.]()
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Lawmakers file dozens of bills as Abbott officially calls special session
Within hours of Gov. Greg Abbott issuing his proclamation announcing next week's special session, lawmakers had filed dozens of bills including two so-called bathroom bills from state Rep. Ron Simmons, a Carrollton Republican. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
When his child needed medical marijuana, he moved to Colorado
Emmanuel Garza moved from Texas to Colorado so his baby daughter could get the medical marijuana treatment she needed. Legislation to legalize the same treatment in Texas failed to pass during the regular legislative session. Full Story
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![Emmanuel Garza holds his daughter Madelynn, 1, while she experiences a seizure Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at their home in Aurora, CO.]()
Credit: Daniel Brenner for the Texas Tribune